


Mistresses and Belated Birthday Gifts

by mcgarrygirl78



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Family, Holidays, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-11
Updated: 2016-01-11
Packaged: 2018-05-13 03:09:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5692327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I’ll take the bracelet now; if the diamonds aren’t real you can have it back.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mistresses and Belated Birthday Gifts

**Author's Note:**

> This story is written in the Losing a Whole Year high school alternate universe.

“Oh my god, Aunt Liz, these diamonds are bananas! Do you think they're real?”

“That’s a mistress gift.” Liz replied, opening a can of Coke and pouring some over her Jack Daniels on the rocks. “Olivia, don’t you ever become some man’s mistress, do you understand me?”

“I would never.” She shook her head.

“Its easier said than done. Men are deceitful and do whatever they need to do to get in your good graces. I never want to turn you into a man hater but you're old enough to know now that the opposite sex is never looking out for you.”

“So men are basically scum?”

“A large majority of them, yes.”

“I didn’t know Elliot was married.” Liv didn’t want to sound disappointed in her aunt. She didn’t know all the circumstances of their relationship and it wasn’t her place to judge.

“He is…technically. He and his wife have been separated for nearly two years but both are shuffling their feet on the divorce. He has a wife and a handful of kids but he can afford to buy me diamonds on a cop’s salary. He's about to do something stupid, or already has, and wants me to remain with him.”

“Stupid like what? With a gift like this he had to kill the President.”

“The holidays can be a lonely time for some people, for a lot of people.” Liz sat down in her favorite chair, put her drink on the coffee table, and lit a cigarette. “He and his wife go back and forth all the time. He probably didn’t want to be alone; she played on that. Or she didn’t want the kids not to have dad for another Christmas and he played on that. 

“Those two are symbiotic. I know he’ll eventually crawl back to her and really that’s his business. What I'm not going to do is be bribed into being a warm bed for him to crawl into when she gets on his nerves again. You either fight for your marriage or you get out of it. Believe me, I know.”

“Wow…hmm.”

“I shouldn’t be burdening you with things like this. You're still young and having fun, and that’s the way it should be.”

“But if you didn’t tell me these things, who would?” Olivia reasoned. “Then I'd just be out there in the world completely ignorant. No thank you…I’ll take the over sharing any day. Thanks, Aunt Liz. Do you think these diamonds are real?”

“I'm going to have it appraised and we shall see. Then I can threaten to pawn it when we have another argument. Whether he goes back to Cathy or not, it probably is better for me to stop seeing Elliot. We aren’t exactly right for each other and physical relationships only go so far.”

“He has a really nice butt. It can go pretty far.”

“He does have an amazing butt.” Liz smiled, sipping her drink. “What about you, miss? Isn't Edward supposed to come over with some Christmas gifts?”

“He should be here in like 15 minutes.” Liv said. “He called me before he left his house.”

“Do you know what he got for you?”

“No, but it’s probably lame. I've been practicing my happy face.” She put on a cheesy grin. “Oh wow, Ed, this is great.”

“It needs work. I think he knows you better than you think he does. I think he's gonna nail it.”

“I want to believe that. Boys just really aren’t the brightest.”

“It gets worse with age.” Liz said. “He's a good kid though and it doesn’t take much for me to see that he's crazy about you.”

“He is crazy about me.” Liv smiled.

“How do you feel about that?”

“I don't know.” Liv shrugged. 

She was crazy about him too but sometimes the feelings overwhelmed her. It was smothering and Liv needed to break out just to breathe. She didn’t want to mess this up but also didn’t want to have her life hang in the balance of how some guy felt about her. Walking that fine line was difficult; she had taken it out on Ed more than once. Not a lot but enough for her to know it was a big concern of hers.

“Just enjoy it, Olivia. I know that’s easy to say and not so easy to do. But you're 17 now and there will never be another time like this. Hold hands, kiss, dream, and smile genuinely when he buys you really bad gifts. 

“I didn’t have a boyfriend when I was your age…I was a free agent. I liked it better that way but after getting married I realized I wasn’t always equipped to know how to work within a relationship. Every experience being with someone else is a learning experience. The things you learn with Ed will still be with you when you're my age.”

“This is exactly why I made him read up on cunnilingus. There's no way in hell he'd ever get another girlfriend if he knows nothing about their bodies.”

“I didn’t hear that.” Liz stuck her fingers in her ears. “Oh my god, I really didn’t hear that Olivia. So you two…? No, don’t tell me. Yes, you have to tell me.”

“We have. It was 100% safe and consensual.” Liv replied. “Everything is OK.”

“I'm taking you to the gynecologist next month. Once you start having sex you need to see the doctor. We can get you on the pill if you want and have proper conversations about your sexual health. And my doctor is a woman so there's nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“Thanks for being cool about this, Aunt Liz.”

“On the inside I'm shaking like a leaf. I suddenly have a teenager, who's nearly an adult and doing adult things. But I plan to fake it until I make it.” She put out the cigarette. “I think we’ll both be OK. Did you buy Edward something nice for Christmas?”

“I got him two Metallica shirts and a dart set. And they're real darts too, not the crappy Velcro ones. He said his dad was going to teach him the official Tucker technique. Apparently darts is a Tucker thing. Who knew?”

“Well I hope you're as happy with your gift as I'm sure he’ll be with his. Also note, most men are easy to please; especially when you know them well. Since I have to finish up some work, I will leave you two alone.” She stood up and grabbed her drink.

“Thanks, Aunt Liz. He might stay for a movie or something.”

“That’s fine with me. I’ll take the bracelet now; if the diamonds aren’t real you can have it back.”

“Cool!”

“And finish that Coke darling, I don’t want it to go flat.”

“I will.”

Left alone with her own thoughts, Liv found she was nervous. Earlier in the afternoon she'd wrapped Ed’s gifts; tee shirts in one package and the darts in another. It wasn’t done so well as wrapping gifts had never been something she was good at. She was getting better though. Liv had no idea what he got her. 

She tried to needle some information out of him all week at school or when they talked on the phone. He was pretty damn good at keeping mum. She even made a promise to do something dirty with her hands if he just gave it up and told her. Ed kept his mouth shut. Liv didn’t like surprises very much. 

There were so many times in her life when she was expecting to be happy and was quickly let down. If that happened with Ed then she didn’t know how it would make her feel. No, she knew exactly how it would make her feel and she never wanted to feel that way with him. Liv drank the leftover Coke and turned on MTV. 

She needed some distraction and surely there were some videos on to help her out. It was early Sunday evening though so they were playing a movie. She wasn’t in the mood for _Sixteen Candles_ so she flipped around until she found something on cable. _Three’s Company_ was good; John Ritter always made Liv laugh.

When the doorbell rang, she took a deep breath and walked to the foyer. It was cold out and Ed wore a Yankees jacket, a skully hat, and his hood over his head. She smiled when she saw him.

“Cold?”

“Let me in.” Ed said with a smirk.

She pulled him into the house, giving him a gentle kiss on the lips. Liv held his hand inside his glove as they walked from the foyer to the den. Ed put down his shopping bag and shook off his winter clothes. Then he sat down on the couch.

“Gimme, gimme presents!” Liv threw herself over his lap and grabbed the shopping bag.

“You're awful, Olivia Benson.” He laughed. Before she could move away he kissed her. This kiss was a bit more passionate than the first. “Is your Aunt here?”

“She's doing work in her study. So do you wanna open them at the same time, or separately.”

“I'm opening mine first.” Ed took one of the wrapped gifts from the coffee table.

“Well you have two so you open one and then I’ll open one.” She looked in the bag. “How many do I have?”

“Two.”

“Great…then it'll be fair.”

“I think that might be the first time in our relationship.” Ed grinned.

“Shut up and open the gift.” She gave his shoulder a gentle push.

Ed ripped the paper off, putting it in the tiny space between them on the couch. He grinned from ear to ear as soon as he saw the darts. He looked at her.

“For real?”

“Well they're not fake darts, Edward. It’s a real wood set with real darts that might take someone’s eye out.”

“I'm not that bad at darts.” He said. “I'm gonna set it up on my bedroom wall and start practicing over the break. This is awesome, thanks. Another generation will nail the Tucker technique and leave men crying in their wake.”

“So you like it?” Liv actually felt shy when she asked.

“It’s fuckin awesome. Thanks, babe. Now open one of yours.”

There were two gifts in the bag, one was bulky and the other solid and a little heavy. Liv decided to open that one first. It was a coffee table book of photographs. She started flipping through it.

“Wow, this is so awesome.” She smiled.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, it’s got behind the scenes pictures from some of my favorite old movies. Look its William Powell and Myrna Loy in _After the Thin Man_. Ooh, its Kim Novak from _Vertigo_ …I love _Vertigo_.”

“I knew that.”

“This is great.”

“I thought after you finished reading it you could like leave it on the table for other people to fawn over. My mother says that coffee table books are an understated elegance.”

“That sounds like something your mom would say.” Liv said.

“I know, right? So am I opening my second gift?”

“Yes.”

Ed tore the paper off and dumped the two tee shirts in his lap. He was grinning from ear to ear, which made Liv smile. He held one of the shirts up to his chest.

“This shirt kicks ass. Aww, Liv, I love it.”

“I'm so glad.”

“… _And Justice for All_ , oh yeah. I'm gonna wear these shirts until they look so shitty.” He said.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“It is.” Ed leaned to kiss her. “It really is. This is cool. Open your gift.”

Liv did just that, and gasped when she saw was wrapped in the paper.

“Oh my god, Ed!” she threw herself into his arms. “It’s what I wanted. How did you know?”

“Because I listen…sometimes.”

“Yes!” Liv stood from the couch and put on the jacket. It was a camouflage jacket with a thermal lining. She rushed over to the mirror to check out how it looked. Of course the jacket looked perfect, she knew it would when she saw it in the Buffalo Exchange the day she and Connie went to trade in some of their gently used clothes. 

It was a little too pricey that day, Liv had other plans for that money. But in the back of her mind she always knew that jacket was going to be hers. She could hardly believe she was wearing it. “I look so amazing in this jacket.”

“Yeah, you do.” Ed smiled.

“Seriously, best gift ever. I'm in love with this jacket. Thanks so much, Ed.”

“You're welcome.”

He began to gather up all the gift paper, throwing it into the bag he'd brought Liv’s gifts in. It had taken some time, and a little help from Rafael Barba, but he did a good job. Liv was happy. She hardly wanted to take off the jacket to have a little cuddling time on the couch.

“And there's something else cool about the jacket.” He said. “The lining is removable so you can wear it in the winter and spring.”

“I think I'm gonna beat this jacket up as much as you will those tee shirts. And I love the buttons.”

Ed bought her a bunch of buttons and put them on the jacket. One of them was an anarchy symbol. Another was Wonder Woman, Morrissey, a weed leaf, Lloyd Dobler holding a boom box over his head, and a pink button with the words _witch bitch_ written in black cursive.

“I was totally rooting for you, you know.” Liv said as she wrapped her arms around his middle.

“What do you mean?”

“Well I assumed you were gonna mess this up, hey I'm just being honest, but still I was rooting for you to get it right.”

“I got it right?” Ed asked.

“Oh yeah…100 boyfriend points for Tucker.”

“When and where can I redeem those points?”

“Well we have a week off school coming. Aunt Liz and your dad don’t have a week off work. It’s highly probable that I'm going to want to take your clothes off at least three days out of that week. That’s simple mathematics, Tucker.”

“Explain it to me.” He said. “I'm a C math student at best.”

“Mmm, me plus hormones equals you without clothes.” Liv said. “No need to solve for X, I am X.”

“I wish I could stay a little longer so we can have some practice sessions.” He took her face in his hands and kissed her. “My dad wanted me home within 90 minutes. We’re still working on our contribution to the Tucker family dinner.”

“You have to leave?” she tried not to pout, it wasn’t becoming. Usually Ed made his own schedule. His dad just wanted him back in the house before the city curfew of 1 a.m. Rarely was that a problem.

“I cannot let my dad make the mac and cheese by himself. He attempted last year Liv, and I don’t think my aunts talked to me for months afterward. Mac and cheese and mashed potatoes are the cornerstone starches of Tucker family meals. If they're not done right then the whole thing goes in the crapper. My grandmother was quoted as saying that she didn’t have enough years left to endure crappy dinners and everyone better be on the ball. I've actually been reading about macaroni and cheese for three days. I'm starting to feel like Julia Child.”

“Are you going to see your mom this Christmas?” Liv asked. She knew that wasn’t a guarantee but still a possibility. The former Mrs. Tucker sometimes went out of the country with her family for Christmas, or sometimes to Disney World. Her oldest son never made those trips.

“I'm having brunch on the 24th with her family; fuckin brunch, Liv. I don’t really want to but my dad won't let me talk my way out of it. Her husband’s mom hates me and I don’t want to deal with it but I did ask for a pretty big gift this year so that’s gonna require that I go, play the game, and smile. I hope I can eat fast. What about your mom?”

Ed knew that Mrs. Benson was a sensitive subject but it was Christmastime. He wanted to make sure that Liv was really OK and not just pretending to be OK for his benefit, which she was known to do. He wasn’t going to have a great time with the Tucker clan only to come home and find out his girlfriend had a miserable Christmas alone with her sort of spinster aunt. Ed would invite them with his family before he let that happen. It would be incredibly awkward and kinda fun at the same time. In other words, it would be most of the story of Ed Tucker’s life.

“Mom is Mexico somewhere doing something.” Liv replied. “I don't know, Ed, and I don’t care. Seriously. She wanted to take some time to herself so she can go ahead and do it. Aunt Liz and I have a nice quiet day of brunch, yes fuckin brunch, and gift exchange planned. We’ll probably watch some cheesy Christmas movies on cable and then her friend is coming over to make us a glorious Christmas meal. I think he’s like a five-star chef or something. I'm really looking forward to eating.”

“Me too.” Ed smiled. Olivia sounded genuinely excited and that made him happy. “Eating is probably my favorite part. As I get older, it gets to be even better than presents.”

“No, presents will always be #1 for me. Since my birthday is so close to Christmas I'm kinda used to getting screwed present-wise. So the more presents, the merrier.”

“I didn’t get you anything for your birthday.” He said.

“I liked the card. You're not made of money Ed, and I'm not dating you for presents, though never get it in your head that I'm not a huge fan of presents.”

“Huge fan of presents…check. I did want to get you a little something and when I saw it I knew you would like it so…” Ed pulled the box out of his pocket. “Happy birthday.”

“Are you kidding?” she took the box.

“No, I'm not kidding. What do you think, I'd bring an empty box over here so you could kick my ass.”

She was giddy as she took the top off the box. Inside was a gold necklace. There was a rectangle shaped pendant on the end and it said fearlessness. Taking it from the box and holding it in the palm of her hand, Olivia felt the weight of it. That usually meant it was real gold. 

There was something so simple about it; simple but elegant. It almost felt as if it was too much for her. So much of what had happened in the past year or so all summed up in one word, one gift. If this necklace made her cry, Olivia was never going to forgive him.

“Thanks.” She whispered still looking down at the palm of her hand. She was afraid to look at him.

“You're welcome. You like it?”

Liv didn’t answer, she just threw her arms around him. Ed smiled and held onto her. He didn’t mean to say I love you, or maybe he did, but he stiffened just a bit after the words came out. Liv just held him tighter and though she didn’t say it herself, as her hand caressed the back of his head he knew. How much did it suck that he had to let go so he could leave soon? Ed never wanted to leave.

“Do you really have to leave?” Liv asked, putting little kisses on his neck while still holding onto him.

“Yeah. I’ll come over on the 26th…we’ll hang out all day.”

“That’s the only reason I'm letting you go.” She sighed and stood up from the couch. “Let me get a bag to put your gifts in.”

***

“Hey, did Edward pass or fail?”

About 90 minutes later, Liz knocked and stuck her head into Olivia’s bedroom. The teen was watching _How the Grinch Stole Christmas_ and eating a gigantic bowl of bangers and mash. She looked mostly content, her godmother felt good seeing a calm in her. Liz was still flying by the seat of her pants where raising kids was concerned, if one could even raise a teenager. Most of the time she was following Liv’s lead and trying to figure out how to switch it around.

“He nailed it.” Liv replied smiling.

“He did?”

“Camouflage jacket, coffee table book, and a necklace. The necklace was a birthday gift.”

“Ooh, belated birthday gifts get it every time.”

“I know right?”

“So I don’t need to ask you if you're happy or hungry?” Liz asked.

“I'm both…the bangers and mash are helping. There’s more downstairs in the pot if you're hungry.”

“Sometimes we eat like poor people.” 

“I only eat like hungry people, Aunt Liz. But your upper middle class snobbery is noted.”

“Cute.” Liz smiled. “I am a bit hungry though.”

“Go and get a bowl, it’s delicious. Then come back and watch some TV with me. _Ebbie_ will be on after the Grinch.”

“ _Ebbie_?”

“Susan Lucci’s epic retelling of the Scrooge story.” Liv said. “You’ve never seen _Ebbie_? Oh my god, Aunt Liz, you are in for a real treat. Its Christmas cheese on a scale you cannot fathom.”

“I find it difficult to say no to that.” Liz said.

“Don’t say no, don’t say no.” her goddaughter chanted.

“Alright, you got me. I’ll be right back.”

Smiling, Liz headed downstairs to get some dinner. Often times during the holidays she was sad and tired. She worked overtime so that people with families would have more time off. She pushed away the feelings of regret that she'd never found the right man or just had a couple of kids herself. Liz wasn’t even that fond of kids but she still had the regrets anyway. 

She missed her own family and hated that the Donnellys had a plethora of issues and were better apart than together. This year she actually had a little family. She had Liv, who despite every reason in the world to just not give a damn, was in full blown Christmas spirit. There was a tree, specials on TV, and shopping for gifts. Liz decided that this year she was going to be a part of the season as well. 

She was going to be the one who took time off work. She would overdose on bad TV and food that she would normally never eat. Maybe there would even be reflection of the year that was ending along with plans for the year to come. Liz didn’t know if she would do that but she was going to make the most of a season that for the long time she tried to ignore. 

Without a second thought, OK a little second thought, Liz got a nice helping of bangers and mash. She poured herself a glass of lemonade before joining Liv upstairs. It was time to put all her troubles away for the day and just enjoy herself. Liz deserved it; she knew Olivia did too.

***


End file.
